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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28581213">The Music Stars</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAPPstore/pseuds/TheAPPstore'>TheAPPstore</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Danganronpa Love Stories [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Super Dangan Ronpa 2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Background Relationships, Baseball, F/M, Musicians, Relationship Advice, Romance, Sports, Unrequited Love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:27:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,576</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28581213</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAPPstore/pseuds/TheAPPstore</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Leon is a famous baseball player. He was even scouted out by Hope's Peak Academy as the Ultimate Baseball Player. Despite this, his dreams lie elsewhere. He wanted to be the Ultimate Musician instead. He dreamed of becoming his own music legend, playing music in front of a luge audience. He once thought that the Ultimate Idol, Sayaka Maizono, was his key in becoming a musician. He thought that if he trained with her, he would get the talent that he dreamed of.</p><p>But when it turns out that Sayaka wasn't available, the other Ultimate Musician, Ibuki Mioda, took Leon under her wing. She saw potential in Leon, and wanted to make him her partner in music. She's been lonely in the music business, and there's nothing more exciting to her than getting a partner.</p><p>However, as they learn more about each other, things aren't looking so great for the couple. Tensions between them rose as their relationship deepens, almost to the point of breaking it. As the tensions rose to a breaking point, how can Leon and Ibuki mend their relationship?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kuwata Leon/Mioda Ibuki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Danganronpa Love Stories [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1916221</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Music Stars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>If you've read the previous entry, Little Tree in a Bright Garden, some of these upcoming scenes might looks familiar. That's because they're the same scene, but from a different perspective. That means that yes, all of the love stories in this series are canon.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Being a baseball star has become quite boring for Leon Kuwata. Sure, he might be good at pitching and scoring home runs, but he no longer feels excited when he plays baseball. To him, it has all become routine. He has become unbeatable in baseball. Whenever he plays, his opponents would end up not trying anymore. Some teams have tried their best to defeat Leon and break his win streak, but their efforts were all for nothing. Leon eventually grew sick of playing baseball. If his opponents couldn't bother to even try to beat him, why should he even try to win if he's going to win anyways? He tried his best to distance himself from baseball, but his coach and teammates refused to see him go. If he no longer plays baseball, then his team would lose their star player, and they will certainly have trouble with competing against their opponents. His teammates didn't like the fact that Leon didn't take baseball games seriously, but they can't deny that he carried the team to victory many times before.</p><p>Leon wasn't exactly a good sport in baseball. He would often refuse to attend practice, despite the insistence from his coaches that he needed the practice to prevent himself from getting rusty. He refused to follow uniform regulations, preferring to take whatever clothes he feels like wearing out to the field. He didn't even practice good sportsmanship, often trash talking opposing players and refusing to respect them. This made his opponents resent him even more.</p><p>When Hope's Peak Academy scouted Leon out to be the Ultimate Baseball Player, he was offended at first. He didn't want to be recognized as a baseball star. He wanted to get away from baseball. He wanted to reject the invitation. However, his family and coaches insisted that he accept the invitation and go to Hope's Peak Academy, to which Leon reluctantly agreed. Japan's top professional baseball teams wanted to have Leon on their team, and if he didn't attend the most prestigious school in the world, they are less likely to accept them. Not that Leon cares about baseball anymore.</p><p>Leon's dream lie elsewhere, away from baseball. Instead of being known as the Ultimate Baseball Player, he wanted to be known as the Ultimate Musician. But he didn't want to be just a musician that is great at many different types and genres of music. He wanted to be a punk rock star. He got the idea of becoming a musician when a cute girl he took an interest in said that she liked musicians. He figured that he could win her heart if he became a musician himself.</p><p>And so, he did everything he can to change his own looks. He let his hair grow out and refused to have it be shaved, much to the annoyance of his teammates. He changed his own clothes so that he looked more like a punk rock player. He added many accessories to himself, including a few piercings. Not everyone approved his new look, though. His teammates and coach tried to convince him to throw away his punk aesthetic, thinking that clashed with his talent. Leon told them that he doesn't care about what he looked like on the field. He wanted to do his own thing and that's his choice.</p><p>When Leon is not on the field, he's bust trying to get himself a girl. Given that he's a famous athlete, he has no problems with finding a girl who likes him. After all, who doesn't want to date an athlete who has rarely, if ever, saw defeat? However, Leon is also notorious for being a womanizer. Over the years, he has started many relationships with many girls. Just when their relationship was about to go deeper, he breaks up with them and starts a new one in its place. This made many girls frustrated with him and it made those who are aware of this fact less likely to date him. Of course, girls will still try to date him, but the number of girls who are willing to do so will only decrease over time.</p><p>The only girl who is remotely willing to date Leon no matter what is his cousin, Kanon. Kanon grew fond of Leon ever since they were young, and she wanted to marry or date him when they became older. She confessed her love to him more times than any of them can remember in an attempt to get him interested in her. Leon ignored all the confessions and eventually got used to him. He sees Kanon as more of a younger sister. It would be pretty weird if close cousins decided to be...intimate with each other. He did made a bet with Kanon, saying that if she managed to pitch a baseball at 140 kilometers per hour, he might gain a romantic interest in her. Very few women came close to that record. Even his record pitch of 160 kilometers per hour was close to the current record. Of course, achieving that record is pretty much impossible, especially for someone without much experience in baseball. Still, he believed that one day, his cousin would be able to break that record.</p><hr/><p>Leon soon found himself in Hope's Peak Academy as part of Class 78. He was disappointed about his title. He didn't want to be known as the Ultimate Baseball Player, despite his exceptional skills for his age, yet that's his title now. He wanted to be known as the Ultimate Musician instead, even though people told him that there's already an Ultimate Musician in Hope's Peak. Then again, Hope's Peak did have two Ultimate Lucky Students in the school at the same time, so he doesn't see why any other talent should only have one person representing them each.</p><p>Hope's Peak also had a lot of cute looking girls in its campus, and Leon wants to try dating as many girls as he can. However, as soon as he looked through the list of his female classmates, he got disappointing results. The novelist girl, Toko Fukawa, not only looks mentally unstable, but also has an unhealthy crush on the scion. Leon doesn't see why anyone would be attracted to the scion, seeing he's rather cold to everyone. Same goes to the detective girl, who doesn't look like she cares about her classmates. Aoi Asahina looks cute and has a great body, but she's also an athlete who's a fan of many sports, something that Leon wanted to distance himself from. Sakura Ogami is just way too big for him, Celestia Ludenberg looks too distrustful, and Mukuro Ikusaba...well, if there's any girl who Leon doesn't want to date, it's a girl who has served many years in war.</p><p>This left Leon with two options: the Ultimate Fashionista Junko Enoshima and the Ultimate Idol Sayaka Maizono. Both girls are world famous, having made several appearances in magazines. If there's anyone that turned Leon on more than anything, it's a celebrity. After all, what kind of person doesn't want to date a celebrity?</p><p>Out of the two girls remaining, the one Leon found himself being attracted to the most was Sayaka Maizono. There are plenty of reasons why Leon wanted Sayaka more than anyone else. For starters, he was already familiar with the idol. Kanon was a huge fan of Sayaka, and her father would often take her and Leon to Sayaka's performances. Leon didn't particularly care for Sayaka that much at first. He saw her as just another idol. But once he set his dreams on becoming the Ultimate Musician, he started to become attracted to the idol. In his mind, Sayaka was the perfect girl for him. She has everything he wanted in a girl: the fame, the music talent, and most importantly, the perfect body. If there's anyone who would be his ticket into becoming the Ultimate Musician, it would be her, and she's his classmate now.</p><p>In Leon's perfect world, Sayaka would be his girlfriend. They would date each other during their stay in Hope's Peak Academy. If their relationship managed to survive past Hope's Peak, perhaps they can raise a family together. Leon fully expected that it would be easy for him to date Sayaka. But despite having experience in dating girls, Leon found it surprisingly difficult to catch the attention of Sayaka. For some odd reason, the idol would try to distance herself from him. Leon was baffled at first. He couldn't believe that a girl would not want to date him.</p><p>Maybe Leon should've taken note that some girls are trying to distance themselves away from him. He should've seen it as a warning sign that his relationship with Sayaka is not going to happen. But despite the blatantly obvious evidence that girls are not wanting to date him, Leon ignored them.</p><p>And there's one thing that greatly annoyed Leon during his attempts to date Sayaka. Or rather, there's one body that's getting in between him and Sayaka. That boy is Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student and his classmate. Ever since the school year began, Sayaka has been spending an awful lot of time hanging out with Makoto. Leon just couldn't figure out why someone has famous as Sayaka would want to hang out with someone as ordinary as Makoto? It doesn't make sense in his eyes!</p><p>Over time, Leon grew jealous of Makoto. He began to see the lucky student as his rival, fighting each other over the same girl. Leon became determined to defeat Makoto and win over Sayaka. He wanted Sayaka and he's not letting anyone else take her away from him.</p><hr/><p>Leon doesn't know why he's in this in the first place. He wanted to get away from sports in general and pursue a music career. Instead, he found himself doing sports practice. Not an ideal scenario in his eyes.</p><p>Leon's coach was Nekomaru Nedai, the Ultimate Team Manager. From a young age, he sought to change the fate of failing teams and bring them back from the brink of defeat. Not that Leon's baseball team could use Nekomaru's help. Leon's team already has their star player, so they're not having any problems with winning games.</p><p>Nekomaru made Leon do some practice runs, ignoring all the objections the baseball player has. Leon tried to tell Nekomaru that he's already talented in baseball and that he doesn't need the practice to get good. Nekomaru disagrees. The coach believes that an athlete must constantly practice the sport they're good at, even if they're naturally talented in said sport. If they don't practice for an extended period of time, their skills might get rusty and their performance suffered. Leon rolled his eyes at the advice and tried to ignore it. His coaches and teammates have told him this so many times that he couldn't bother to listen.</p><p>Once the practice is over, Leon decided to have a little chat with his current coach.</p><p>"Good job, Kuwata!" Nekomaru said. "You've got the skills of a natural. Keep it up!"</p><p>Leon rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure," he said sarcastically. "Thanks for the praise. I could really use it."</p><p>Nekomaru grew suspicious of Leon. "Kuwata, what kind of response is that?" he asked. "I expect you to be more sincere with your responses!"</p><p>"Come on!" Leon shouted. "I don't want to do sports anymore! I don't want to practice sports anymore! I want to be the Ultimate Musician!"</p><p>Nekomaru let out a sigh as he shook his head. "Look, Kuwata," he began. "I know how much you don't want to do this. Sometimes we must do things that we don't want to do. Sometimes we must put aside the things that we do want to do. It's why plumbers exists. Nobody wants to handle some shit, but someone has to inspect those pipes or else society won't function. But everyone is expecting you to carry your team to victory. You fail your team because you don't want to do baseball anymore, and you disappoint everyone."</p><p>"It's not like I care about my career anymore," Leon replied.</p><p>"I've analyzed your many games in baseball," Nekomaru said. "I must say, your performance is what I expected out the Ultimate Baseball Player. I'm not surprised. But if there's one thing that irritates me more than anything else-" Nekomaru then stomped his feet and suddenly raised his voice, "IS THAT YOU HAVE SHITTY SPORTSMANSHIP!"</p><p>Leon fell onto the ground in surprise in how sudden the shouting started.</p><p>"Trash talking the opposing team, not taking the game seriously, disrespecting everyone," Nekomaru listed. "You might have the skills of a professional, but you don't act professional while on the field. I expected better behavior coming from you, Kuwata. YOU BRING SHAME ON THE ENTIRE SPORTS!"</p><p>"Okay, okay!" Leon said as he got off the ground. "I get it! You don't need to shout at me!"</p><p>Nekomaru calmed down and lowered his voice. He clutched onto his heart for some reason. "Kuwata, I expect you to practice good sportsmanship from now on," he said. "You have professional teams inviting you to join their teams after your graduated Hope's Peak Academy. Don't make them not want to invite you, or else you won't have a future in baseball. Got it?"</p><p>Leon silently nodded, though he still couldn't resist trash talking his opponents. He then decided to continue the conversation. "So, Coach Nekomaru, I have a question," he said.</p><p>"Oh yeah?" Nekomaru replied. "What's your question?"</p><p>"I'm gonna need some relationship advice," Leon said, expecting to get advice about relationships from a sports coach. "You see, there's this girl who I'm really interested in. Her name's Sayaka Maizono. I wanted to date her, but there's this boy she keeps hanging out with. His name's Makoto Naegi and he's a classmate of mine. I think he's getting in the way of my precious Maizono. Could you help me in defeating Naegi and getting the girl I want?"</p><p>Nekomaru remained silent for a moment, as if he's trying to process what he just heard. Leon didn't expect Nekomaru to give a response, so he let his guard down. Big mistake.</p><p>"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Nekomaru laughed, causing Leon to trip and fall over from the surprise. "Seriously? You're asking me to get relationship advice? If you want relationship advice, you should seek out someone who specializes in relationships. You're asking the wrong person to do that. Besides, who really wants to hurt that little Naegi? He's so kind! Weak as a twig, though. One time he tried to break up a fight between Owada and Togami, and Owada just pushed him. Poor Naegi spent the entire day in a bed recovering from that injury!"</p><p>Leon didn't appreciate remembering that incident near the beginning of the school year.</p><p>Nekomaru grinned for a moment before realizing that it might not be the best time to bring that up again. "Too soon?" he asked.</p><p>Leon just stared at Nekomaru with a disapproving look. "Too soon," he replied.</p><p>Nekomaru then moved on from what he said earlier. "Anyways, just looking at you alone makes something clear," he said. "There is no way you're getting yourself an idol as a girlfriend."</p><p>Leon was shocked by this. "What?!" he gasped. "You're saying that it's impossible? Come on, I'm sure that it's possible. Give me enough time and I'm sure that I can win over Maizono's-"</p><p>"Nope," Nekomaru said. "No way. It's not going to happen."</p><p>Leon was absolutely stunned by this. "Why?" he asked.</p><p>"Let's throw away the fact that idols aren't allowed to hold romantic relationships," Nekomaru began to explain. "Even if we ignore that, you're still trying to get something you can't have no matter what. Trying to steal someone else girl is just..UNFORGIVABLE! Plus, you're a punk. The girl you're going after is a pop idol. What kind of idol would want to date a punk? I'll tell you: no idol would want that! It'll cause a scandal and their reputation will be RUINED! No idol can afford to have their reputation ruined. Maizono is the top idol in the world. There's no way she's willing to risk her entire career and reputation for someone like you. That's why you can't have her."</p><p>Leon was shaken by Nekomaru's talked, though he wasn't deterred. He still believed that, even if it's a incredibly small chance, Sayaka would become interested in him and choose him over Makoto. It's an exciting thought for him to have.</p><p>Nekomaru studied Leon's appearance just a little more. "Hmm...you remind me of one of my classmates," he said. "So, you want to be the Ultimate Musician, at least in your class. Well, I know another Ultimate Musician. Her name's Ibuki Mioda. She seemed to have the same tastes as you. If you're looking to get a girl and want to become the Ultimate Musician, you should go for her instead. At least she's not taken...yet."</p><p>Leon shook his head at the suggestion. "Nah," he said. "No thanks. I'm still going for Maizono. I don't care how much you warned me, I'm sure this is going to work."</p><p>"You still think you have a chance of being with that idol?" Nekomaru asked. "Well, go ahead and chase your dream girl. Just don't expect it to work."</p><p>Leon only listened to one of Nekomaru's sentences. "Thanks for the encouragement!" he said. "I'd better get going. Maizono is going to be mine sooner or later!" He then left Nekomaru.</p><p>Nekomaru growled over being misunderstood. He can't believe that Leon ignored his warning about the relationship with Sayaka. He can only hope that Leon doesn't try to go for the idol. He wished that Leon would go for his classmate Ibuki instead.</p><p>As Leon continued to walk away, Nekomaru roared out a reminder. "I EXPECT YOU TO BE AT PRACTICE NEXT WEEK!"</p><p>But it's too late.</p><hr/><p>Over the next several weeks, Leon paid close attention to Sayaka, waiting for the perfect opportunity to ask her out. He hasn't gotten many opportunities to talk to her. Sayaka was either busy with schoolwork, out doing actual work, or hanging out with Makoto. Leon didn't like it when Sayaka hung out with Makoto. He felt that the the idol had spent a bit too much time talking to a seemingly ordinary boy. It was baffling to him. What does Makoto have that makes Sayaka want to spend so much time with him? Luck? Makoto is the Ultimate Lucky Student, after all. Leon wondered if Sayaka hung around Makoto just to make him feel even luckier. This is something Leon had to investigate.</p><p>Sayaka is currently out for work, so there's no opportunity for Leon to spend time with her. Leon felt bummed out that the girl of his dreams was unavailable. He felt that he should hang out with Makoto instead, just to get a basic idea of who he is and why Sayaka hung around him so much. And that's what Leon did.</p><p>Leon found Makoto sitting alone at lunch the day Sayaka was absent for work. The lucky student seemed to be distraught. Leon doesn't understand why, but he decided to give Makoto some company. He sat down at the table right across Makoto.</p><p>"Yo, Naegi!" Leon greeted as he sat down on the table. "What's up?"</p><p>Makoto looked up from his meal. He seemed to be surprised to see Leon here of all places. He doesn't seem to be the most comfortable for some reason. "Oh...hey, Kuwata..." he spoke.</p><p>"Man, it's a bummer that Maizono's out for work today," Leon said.</p><p>"Well, she is an idol," Makoto replied. "I heard that the idol industry is highly competitive. With Maizono at the top, I'm sure everyone is trying their best to beat her off the top. Even when she's at the top, Maizono has to keep on working to maintain that position."</p><p>"Really?" Leon replied, doubting that Sayaka will be beaten anytime soon. "Are you sure that Maizono is going to be beaten anytime soon? Don't be silly! She's so far ahead of every other idol that nobody will get a chance to beat her by the time she graduates. She's just that good."</p><p>Makoto seemed to have lost interest in what Leon is talking about. He took a few bites out of his food. "Maizono is an amazing girl..." he said, though without much energy.</p><p>"She totally is!" Leon replied. "Maizono is the perfect girl. She has the best voice, she's the sweetest girl, and she's even got the best body!"</p><p>Makoto just stared at Leon. "Kuwata...I'm pretty sure those qualities are subjective," he said.</p><p>"I mean, yeah," Leon replied. "I get that. But there's a reason why she rose above every other idol. She's got all the qualities of the perfect girl!"</p><p>"Well, she is a hard worker too..." Makoto tried to reply.</p><p>"And now, that girl, Sayaka Maizono, is my classmate!" Leon said excitedly, much to the annoyance of Makoto and everyone else in the dining room. "I am so privileged to be her classmate! I wanna-"</p><p>"Kuwata!" Kiyotaka shouted. "Quiet down! We're trying to have lunch here!"</p><p>Karma. Leon didn't let Makoto finish his sentence, and now his own sentence was interrupted. Leon looked around the entire room, seeing pairs of eyes staring at him with a disapproving look. He then looked back at Makoto, who now has a hood over his head.</p><p>"You've got a loud mouth, Kuwata," Makoto said in a brutally honest manner.</p><p>Leon was surprised to hear something harsh, but true, from Makoto's mouth. "Whoa there," he said, this time lowering his voice. "You don't have to be so honest, Naegi."</p><p>Makoto then took off his hood. "Sorry, it's a habit of mine," he explained.</p><p>Leon let out a sigh. He continued on with what he was saying earlier. "As I was saying, I am so privileged to have Maizono as a classmate," he resumed. "I really want to be friends with her. She's the girl of my dreams!"</p><p>Makoto put his hood over his head again. "Uh...I'm sorry to break it to you," he began. "But I was friends with Maizono first. She attended the same middle school as me and-"</p><p>Leon was shocked when he heard this fact. "Wait a second..." he said. "You used to attend the same school as the Ultimate Idol?" Now Leon is really jealous of Makoto. It turns out that Makoto and Sayaka knew each other for much longer than anyone thought. Who knew how much time Makoto and Sayaka spent together back in middle school.</p><p>Makoto didn't appreciate being interrupted again. He let out a sigh as he pulled his hood over his head. "You're so rude," he said. "Could you please let me finish?"</p><p>"Okay! Okay," Leon apologized. "I'll let you finish what you're saying. You really don't have to be this honest..."</p><p>Makoto continued with his story as he removed the hood from his head. "Maizono and I attended the same middle school," he said. "We didn't have much of a friendship, though. She was a celebrity at the time, and I was a normal student. I was not in the mood to be causally hanging out with someone so popular. Back then, I never thought that I would be interacting with Maizono. I saw her as what she really is: an idol to be admired from afar."</p><p>"What are you talking about?" Leon asked. "Maizono is our classmate now. We can hang out with her whenever we wanted."</p><p>Makoto is getting sick of being constantly interrupted. "...Can you let me finish for once?" he asked, starting to grumble.</p><p>"Oh, right!" Leon said. "So...what were you going to say?"</p><p>Makoto let out a heavy sigh. "And then, Maizono sat right next to me during the train ride to here," he continued.</p><p>"Whoa! Seriously?" Leon reacted.</p><p>"I didn't know at the time," Makoto continued, though he seemed annoyed at the start. "I just assumed that she was just an ordinary student just like me, going to school via train. And then I encountered that same girl at the entrance of Hope's Peak Academy, where she revealed that she was the Sayaka Maizono."</p><p>"Man, talk about being the Ultimate Lucky Student," Leon remarked. He wished that he met Sayaka on a train. It looks like Makoto and Sayaka didn't have much of a relationship back in their middle school days. If he met Sayaka before Makoto could meet her, then he could have a chance at dating her. It sounded like an exciting possibility.</p><p>"I really don't know why, of all people, Maizono chose me to speak to," Makoto said.</p><p>"Wait, why did Maizono decided to be friends with you of all people?" Leon asked. "She has so many better options to choose from!" He began to inspect Makoto, much to his discomfort. "I mean, look at you!" Leon said as he inspected Makoto. "You're so weak! Can you even attract girls this way? You know what girls dig these days? Someone who is strong and manly! I'm pretty sure Maizono is better off being with me. Not some nobody who only got here by chance. I mean, look at you! Do you even have a talent?"</p><p>Unbeknownst to Leon, Makoto is feeling highly uncomfortable. Makoto suddenly found that his body became stiff. He was unable to open his mouth to speak. He also began sweating. Leon, of course, didn't see anything wrong with Makoto. To him, it looks like he's taking longer than usual to respond.</p><p>"Hey! Naegi?" Leon shouted. "Are you listening to me? Hello? I am here!"</p><p>Makoto isn't responding.</p><p>"Well, if you can't respond, then I guess I have to take Maizono for myself," Leon declared. "Seriously, how is luck considered a talent? It's not! If you don't have an actual talent, then Maizono is way too good for you. She should definitely date me instead, don't you agree?"</p><p>Makoto still isn't responding.</p><p>Meanwhile, Kiyotaka watched as one of his classmates is being bullied by another one of his classmates. At least, that's what he thinks he's seeing. He couldn't let such unacceptable behavior slide, so he stood up and stopped Leon. "Leon Kuwata!" he shouted. "What are you doing? This is not the time to be putting down our classmates!"</p><p>Leon turned around to Kiyotaka with a confused look. "What?" he asked. "What did I do wrong?"</p><p>"Naegi is our classmate," Kiyotaka explained. "He's an Ultimate Student, just like all of us. Even though he doesn't have a proper talent, we must treat him like any other talented student in this school. Your behavior clearly didn't reflect this."</p><p>"What do you mean I didn't reflect this?" Leon asked again. "I didn't do anything wrong!"</p><p>"Don't try to start an argument with me, Kuwata," Kiyotaka said. "You know what you did. Now apologize to Naegi for hurting his feelings."</p><p>"What? Why?" Leon asked.</p><p>"The language you were saying," Kiyotaka began to explain, "it sounded like you were bulling Naegi!"</p><p>"What?! Bully?" Leon asked again.</p><p>"I've served as a hall monitor for years," Kiyotaka said. "If there's anything that I can't tolerate, is students putting their peers down! And you, Kuwata, are doing just that!"</p><p>"I-I don't understand!" Leon said. "What do you mean I'm bullying someone?"</p><p>"Do I really have to say it again?" Kiyotaka asked. "You're putting one of our classmates down! Now apologize?"</p><p>"What?" Leon asked yet again.</p><p>This became too frustrating for Kiyotaka. He decided to give up with talking to Leon. Leon is still left confused about what he did wrong. It doesn't seem like it's doing anything wrong, at leas to him.</p><p>Lunch soon came to and end, and Makoto went directly back to his room. He doesn't feel too well, and Leon doesn't know what. Makoto seemed to be fine when he started talking. How he went from that to not feeling well remained a mystery. As Leon thought about what could've happened to Makoto, he heard someone talk to him from behind.</p><p>"Clearly, you have trouble with reading people's emotions."</p><p>Leon was surprised with the new voice. He wondered who it belonged to. He turned around and found Kyoko Kirigiri standing behind him. This made Leon nervous. From the very beginning of the school year, he and the rest of his class learned that Kyoko is the daughter of the headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy. He wondered if Kyoko had special privileges in this school. It's not often that one has a classmate who is a child of a staff member, especially one that holds a high position.</p><p>Leon realized that he's thinking too much about what Kyoko could do to him, so he tried to start a conversation with her. "Oh, hey...Kyoko," he greeted. He wished that he didn't have to call Kyoko by her first name. It felt weird calling her that when they only knew each other for a few weeks at this point.</p><p>Kyoko studied Leon for a moment. "You should leave Naegi alone for a few days," she told him. "He needs to recover from his trauma."</p><p>"Trauma?" Leon asked. He never knew that Makoto had suffered something before. It was bewildering. "What are you talking about?"</p><p>Kyoko twirled her finger around her braid as she collected her thoughts. "I've studied Naegi during that entire conversation you had with him," she said. "It started out friendly, but then his mood suddenly changed. I thought about why he would act that way." She paused for a moment as she stared off into the distance. "It is clear to me that Naegi has some problems that needs addressing. There must be something you said to him that caused him to feel...unwell."</p><p>Leon is still confused about what he said to Makoto that caused him to feel unwell, even though everyone else had it figured out. Leon still needs the answers to the questions he's having. "What do you mean?" he asked. "What did I say?"</p><p>Kyoko leered at Leon, causing him to sweat. Leon waited for Kyoko to say something, expecting an answer from her. He could feel his body freezing up from that cold stare. He wasn't sure what's going to happen next.</p><p>Kyoko then let out a sigh as she stopped staring at Leon. She began walking out of the dining room. "I'll let you figure it out," she said.</p><p>Leon could feel his body loosening itself, but he still have question. "What?" he reacted. "You're not going to tell me what I did wrong?"</p><p>Kyoko paused before she could exit the dining room. She didn't bother to turn around to face Leon as she gave him this advice. "In order to grow as a person, you need to take a look at yourself and see your own flaws and problems," she said. "If you can do that, you know what aspects of yourself you need to work on. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and we can learn from them to avoid making them. I know what you did wrong, Kuwata. You just need to figure it out yourself."</p><p>Leon was unsure of what to do next. What Kyoko said doesn't seem to make much sense to him. He tried to reach out and have another work with Kyoko, but it's too late. She's already left. Leon let out a huff of air. He ignored that Kyoko told him earlier and set his focus back on getting Sayaka. He didn't intend it, but Makoto was out of the way for now. He made himself a plan. As soon as Sayaka returns to Hope's Peak Academy, he would ask her to hang out with him. Leon grinned over the plan. He was excited to pull it out.</p><p>Little did he now that his opportunity to hang out with Sayaka is going to come sooner than he thinks.</p><hr/><p>Ibuki Mioda was always a musician. It's been her dream ever since she was born. Her childhood home was filled with all sorts of musical instruments. She would play these interments almost all the time, creating loud sounds that she enjoyed listening too. Not everyone liked the way she was playing her music. Her parents, for instance, grew irritated that her music was being disruptive. They were getting tired of her being filled to the brim with energy. They had to get something that would serve as an outlet for all that energy. They tried everything they can, but nothing worked. Ibuki just had too much energy. It was starting to get exhausting.</p><p>When Ibuki was a teen, she attended Shiba High School, a school that's only for girls. There, she found and joined a light music club. Finally, Ibuki has an outlet to all of her excess energy. Her parents once considered getting her a drum set, but couldn't be bothered to get one as it was impractical to set up. Ibuki spent much of her first few weeks in the music club playing with whatever instrument she could find, mostly the drums as she thought she was getting one for one of her birthdays. The other club members didn't appreciate her style of music, describing it as chaotic and lacking a tune. But once in a while, Ibuki would somehow create a tune that would create inspiration. When this happened, the other club members found ideas to create a song. That's when they began appreciating Ibuki's wild style of making music a bit more.</p><p>The club eventually formed into a band called the Black Cherry, with Ibuki as the lead star of the band. Ibuki created much of the songs that made the band successful. They had many memorable songs during this time. As a light music club, the band mostly played traditional pop songs in a pop style. Ibuki had loads of fun being in this band. Sometimes, though, she had a bit too much fun. One time she moved so much during a concert the band held that she fell of the stage by accident. Even though Ibuki was prone to accidents sometimes, the rest of the band still enjoyed having Ibuki.</p><p>Ibuki and her band had a rival called the Summer Tree, a boy band from an all boys school that Ibuki couldn't be bothered to remember. Marketing teams competed for months betting on which of the two bands would become more successful. Was it the all girls band the Black Cherry? Or was it the all boys band the Summer Tree? The two bands competed for months for the top upcoming band of the month. However, none of that matters, as a curtain superstar idol completely crushed both bands along with many others: Sayaka Maizono.</p><p>Due to Sayaka's immense success, Ibuki was dissatisfied with how her band is going. She felt like she couldn't stand a chance against Sayaka, as the idol was simply too successful to beat. Ibuki's tastes then changed completely. She changed her preferred genre to death metal. She changed her appearance to look more like a punk. She even developed a disdain towards pop music, though she still respected Sayaka. All of these changes caused conflicts with the rest of the band, as they believed that they can still find success even with Sayaka overshadowing them. Ibuki disagrees with them, feeling like they're only holding herself back from her dream of becoming a musician.</p><p>The conflicts reached their climax when the Hope's Peak Academy talent scout came to their school to watch their performance. Ibuki had a fight with the rest of her band, stating that she doesn't want to play pop music anymore while the rest wanted to. These fights eventually lead to Ibuki quitting the club and pursue a solo career. It's not like the fights matter. Only one of the girls will be selected to attend Hope's Peak, and it has to be the most talented one out of all of them. Ibuki was the most talented member of the music club, so she became the one who got to attend Hope's Peak. Though, her invitation didn't came without some friendships becoming bitter.</p><p>Ibuki spent much of her first year at Hope's Peak Academy as a solo star, producing many songs in the death metal genre. She didn't find nearly as much success as during her days as a light music club member, but Ibuki didn't care. She was happy with how enjoyable metal music felt to play. As the months pass, however, Ibuki couldn't help but feel a little lonely. She missed the days when she was a light music club member. She remembered all the good times she spent with her fellow club members. She wished that she could return to those times, but knew that there was no turning back. Ibuki felt like she needed a companion, and fast.</p><p>Luckily, there was someone who has the potential to be her companion. Looking through the list of students that are about to come in next year, there as a curtain someone that caught her eye: Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Player. Oh sure, he looks nothing like what she expected a real baseball player to look like. But he looked like to be her type. They both share the same style, they both had the same taste in music, and they both had the same interests. Of course, Ibuki has never met Leon in person before. She's only heard him as the upcoming star baseball player. But at first sight, she found her companion in music.</p><p>And so, Ibuki made it her goal to meet this baseball player and get him to join her band.</p><hr/><p>Ibuki spent the first few weeks of her second year in Hope's Peak studying Leon closely. She observed the baseball player without his knowledge. From what she could tell, Leon was dissatisfied with being a baseball player and wanted to become a musician instead. That was all what Ibuki got out of Leon. As soon as she heard that, she knew that Leon would become her companion. For now, all Ibuki has to do is find an opportunity to hang out with Leon.</p><p>There's just one problem: Leon is spending more time eyeing at Sayaka than trying to find the actual Ultimate Musician. Ibuki was infuriated. That Leon is going after the very idol that ruined her career as a light music star. Ibuki still respected Sayaka, but she's not okay with the idol hanging out with a punk. The worst part is that Sayaka isn't even remotely interested in Leon, preferring instead the other Ultimate Lucky Student, Makoto Naegi.</p><p>Ibuki let out a groan upon seeing this state of affairs. This is starting to become a confusing web of relationships. She wished that Leon would just quit trying to hang out with Sayaka and hang out with her instead. She doesn't feel like getting involved in this, though, so she decided to leave her three underclassmen alone for now.</p><p>But Ibuki wasn't willing to give up so easily. She just had to get Leon to join her band. If he wanted to becoming the Ultimate Musician in the genre he's going for, then he should go for her instead of a pop idol. Ibuki became determined to find an opportunity to hang out with Leon. And so, she waited for an opportunity.</p><hr/><p>One day, Ibuki was walking down the hallways of Hope's Peak, wondering where Leon might've went. She heard some voices coming from the cafeteria. She went there to investigate. She then took a look through the door to see who's inside.</p><p>Ibuki gasped upon seeing who's inside. It's Leon and Sayaka! Ibuki groaned upon seeing this. She didn't approve of this pairing. She doesn't think a pop idol and a punk will go together very well. It seemed that Sayaka has gotten the memo that this is a bad idea. Unfortunately, Leon hasn't gotten the same memo, as he's treating this meeting as if it's going to work. Ibuki can only hope that Leon realized that he has no chance of being with Sayaka.</p><p>While Ibuki was waiting for an opportunity to enter, one of her classmates passed by her.</p><p>"Hey, Ibuki," Nekomaru greeted. "What's-"</p><p>Ibuki signaled to Nekomaru to keep quiet.</p><p>"Huh?" Nekomaru asked. "Why?"</p><p>"Is there someone out there?" Sayaka asked from inside the dining room. There was a brief pause after she finished talking.</p><p>"Eh, it's probably nothing," Leon replied. "Anyways..."</p><p>Leon continued his conversation with Sayaka.</p><p>Nekomaru frowned upon hearing Leon's voice. "No way," he said in a quiet tone, as to not disrupt the conversation. "Is that Kuwata hanging out with Maizono?"</p><p>"Sure is," Ibuki replied. "Ibuki saw it clear as day."</p><p>Nekomaru growled as he clutched his fist. "I warned Kuwata not to do that!" he said. "That guy still thinks that he has a chance with an idol. I told him that he should hang out with you instead!"</p><p>"Ibuki thinks the same," Ibuki replied, nodding her head. "So, what should Ibuki do?"</p><p>"You've been keeping an eye on Kuwata for some time, haven't you?" Nekomaru asked.</p><p>"Ibuki does," Ibuki replied. "Ibuki wished that she found an opportunity to hang out with him, but never did. What should Ibuki do now?"</p><p>"Well, looks like you don't have much of a choice," Nekomaru said. "Just get in there and drag Kuwata away."</p><p>"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ibuki asked.</p><p>Nekomaru sighed. "Well, if you really want Kuwata, then do what's necessary," he said. "I'll be going soon. I have a training session with Akane. Let me know how this went." Nekomaru then left Ibuki alone and went off to do his own thing.</p><p>Ibuki took a look back in the dining hall. She noticed that Sayaka and Leon are still continuing their conversation, though it looked like Sayaka wanted to get out as soon as possible. That's when Ibuki heard that she's being brought up. Ibuki grinned as the opportunity comes. She stood up and walked into the dining room.</p><p>"Did somebody call Ibuki over?" Ibuki said as she entered the dining room.</p><p>Leon and Sayaka jumped a little upon hearing the new voice. They turn their attention to Ibuki as she approached them.</p><p>"Oh, there you are," Sayaka said. "No, I didn't ask you to come here, Mioda-senpai. Were you listening to us?"</p><p>"Just Ibuki is fine," Ibuki said. "But yeah, I was walking around school wondering what to do. Then I heard that you two are talking about music, and I think I found myself a protege."</p><p>"Oh yeah?" Leon asked. "Which one?"</p><p>Ibuki kept her eyes on Leon. She knew who she's going for. Ibuki reached out and grabbed Leon by the collar, lifting him off his seat.</p><p>"Hey! What the-?" Leon reacted.</p><p>"So, you want to become the Ultimate Musician," Ibuki said. "Looks like your tastes match Ibuki's. How awesome! Ibuki would love to play music with you! Come with me! Let's play music together!" Ibuki then dragged Leon out of the dining room, leaving Sayaka inside with some unfinished food.</p><p>"W-wait!" Leon cried. "Mioda? Let me go! I wanna hang out with Maizono a little longer!"</p><p>"Hey!" Sayaka cried. "Ibuki! At least let Kuwata finish his food!"</p><hr/><p>Ibuki continued to drag Leon across the hallways and towards the music room, drawing the attention of some of their peers. Leon struggled for a moment before freeing himself out of Ibuki's grip.</p><p>"Hey!" Ibuki said as Leon slipped off her.</p><p>Leon made some adjustments on his collar with a pained look on his face. "Mioda, what are you doing?" he asked. "I was having a nice dinner with Maizono! Let me go back!" He made an attempt to walk away.</p><p>Ibuki reached out and grabbed Leon again. "Nope," she said as she pulled Leon closer to her. "You're not hanging out with Saya-chan."</p><p>Leon was surprised when Ibuki said that. "Wait, did you know Maizono from before?" he asked.</p><p>"Kind of," Ibuki replied. "Didn't really know her until now. It's just a habit of Ibuki."</p><p>"What?" Leon reacted.</p><p>Ibuki let go of Leon and made him face her. "Listen, Leo-chan," she began. "From this point on, you're not hanging out with Saya-chan anymore. Instead, you're hanging out with me, Ibuki!"</p><p>Leon had a flustered look on his face. "But...Maizono is the Ultimate Idol," he said. "If I want music training from her, I would go to her."</p><p>Ibuki wagged her finger on Leon's lips. "Nu-uh," she said. "You need to get your facts straight, Leo-chan. Saya-chan is an idol. You look like you're a punk. Ibuki dresses like a punk. It shouldn't be this hard to figure out who's right for you."</p><p>Leon stomped on the floor. "Listen choose the path I want, okay?" he said. "I want to date an idol! I want to become a musician! I'll do what I want to achieve my dreams! Got it? Good. Now, leave me alone to do my own thing and stop calling me Leo-chan! My name is Leon Kuwata! Understand?"</p><p>"And my name is Ibuki Mioda!" Ibuki replied.</p><p>Leon let out a frustrated grunt as he turned around and attempted to go back to the dining hall to finish his dinner with Sayaka. Key word being attempted. Before he could get very far, Ibuki reached out and grabbed Leon once again, dragging him to the music room.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>When many shippers ship Danganronpa characters, one of the most common pairings that tend to pop up are Leon and Sayaka. On the surface, it makes sense. It appears that they had a thing for each other and even had some interactions (the non-deadly kind, of course). However, I don't think this pairing is destined to last. Let's ignore the fact that Leon murdered Sayaka in canon. This pairing involves a highly popular pop idol and someone who wants to be a punk. Even if we throw away the rule that idols aren't allow to date, what kind of idol would want to date a punk? In the Danganronpa universe, Sayaka is the top idol in the world with millions of fans around the world. There is no way she is willing to risk her entire reputation for a punk.</p><p>However, there is another music girl that will suit Leon well: Ibuki. Out of the three music girls, I believe Leon realistically has the best chance going with Ibuki. The other two are already interested in another boy. On closer inspection, this pairing makes sense. Leon and Ibuki both have the appearance of a punk. Ibuki is the Ultimate Musician, while Leon wants to be one. These two are pretty much made for each other. But just because I'm shipping these two characters, that doesn't mean that they will only interact with each other. Leon will make attempts to get Sayaka despite everyone's warnings that it will not work. This could create some problems.</p><p>If you've already read the previous entry in the series, you know how this relationship ends. It's a foregone conclusion. But for those who want to see the journey, here you go.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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